Jesus music
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Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of
Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...
that originated on the
West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the
Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it subsided in the l ...
. It outlasted the movement that spawned it and the
Christian music industry The Christian music industry is one aspect of the broader music industry, with a focus on Christian music and subgenres such as gospel music, southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music, and even traditional church mus ...
began to eclipse it and absorb its musicians around 1975.


History

Jesus music primarily began in population centers of the United States where the Jesus movement was gaining momentum—
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
(especially
Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of t ...
and Hollywood), San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago—around 1969–70. Large numbers of
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
s and street musicians began converting to
born-again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. A number of these conversions, especially in southern California, were due largely to the outreach of
Lonnie Frisbee Lonnie Ray Frisbee (June 6, 1949 – March 12, 1993) was an American Charismatic evangelist and self-described "seeing prophet" in the late 1960s and 1970s. He maintained a hippie appearance and struggled with homosexuality (according to his own ...
and Pastor Chuck Smith of
Calvary Chapel Calvary Chapel is an association of evangelical churches, maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs. Beginning in 1965 in Southern California, this fellowship of churc ...
in Costa Mesa. In the aftermath of such conversions, these musicians continued playing the same styles of music that they had been playing prior to their conversion, though they now infused their lyrics with a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
message. Of the many bands and artists that came out of this time-period, some became leaders within the Jesus movement. Most notably among them
Larry Norman Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 album ...
,
Barry McGuire Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter primarily known for his 1965 hit " Eve of Destruction". Later he would pioneer as a singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian music. Early life McGuire was born in O ...
,
Love Song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...
,
Second Chapter of Acts The 2nd Chapter of Acts was a Jesus music and early contemporary Christian music group composed of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and brother Matthew Ward. They began performing in 1972 and enjoyed their period of greatest success d ...
,
Randy Stonehill Randall Evan Stonehill (born March 12, 1952) is an American singer and songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but ...
,
Randy Matthews Randy Matthews (born 1950) is an American Christian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pioneer of Jesus music. He was born into a family with at least five ordained ministers, including his father, Monty, a founding member of the Jordanaires. Wh ...
, and during the mid-1970s,
Keith Green Keith Gordon Green (October 21, 1953 – July 28, 1982) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter in the contemporary Christian music genre, who was originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. His most notable songs are " There ...
. Much of the music was a blend of
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and
folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
(
Children of the Day Children of the Day was a Jesus music music group that recorded and toured from 1970 to 1980. It is considered to be the first group in the genre, and Marsha Stevens the mother of contemporary Christian music. Career After becoming a born-again ...
, Paul Clark,
Nancy Honeytree Nancy Honeytree (born April 11, 1952) is an American Christian musician and one of the leaders in what was known as Jesus music. Background Born Nancy Henigbaum ("Honeytree" being a translation of her family's German name) was born into a fa ...
,
Mark Heard John Mark Heard III (December 16, 1951 – August 16, 1992) was an American record producer, folk rock singer and songwriter from Macon, Georgia. Heard released sixteen albums, and produced or performed with many artists, including: Sam Phil ...
,
Noel Paul Stookey Noel Paul Stookey (born December 30, 1937) is an American singer-songwriter who was famous for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary; however, he has been known by his first name, Noel, throughout his life. Nowadays, he continues to w ...
, Karen Lafferty,
Debby Kerner & Ernie Rettino Debby Kerner & Ernie Rettino are American musicians best known as the creators of the characters from the Psalty the Singing Songbook in the Kids' Praise! series of Christian children's musical albums. Together, they have also created Solomon the ...
),
soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
(
Chuck Girard Chuck Girard (born on August 27, 1943) is a pioneer of Contemporary Christian music. He moved to Santa Rosa, California in his young teens and was a member of the Castells and later the surf-rock band The Hondells. In 1970 he was a founding membe ...
, Tom Howard,
Phil Keaggy Philip Tyler Keaggy (born March 23, 1951) is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 55 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets. H ...
,
Scott Wesley Brown Scott Wesley Brown (born June 4, 1952) is an American CCM singer and songwriter. He has recorded 25 albums and toured in over 50 countries. Biography Brown was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He recorded for Sparrow Records for much of h ...
,
Kelly Willard Kelly Willard (born on August 18, 1956) is a contemporary Christian musician best known for her praise and worship recordings. She was featured as a soloist on projects from Integrity, Vineyard Music, and Maranatha! Music. In addition she sang ...
), R&B ( Andraé Crouch (and the Disciples)),
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...
/
jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
(
Sweet Comfort Band Sweet Comfort Band was an American Christian rock band that first performed in 1973 in Riverside, California, and were active until 1984. The band was initially composed of keyboardist/lead vocalist, Bryan Duncan, and brothers Kevin (bass guita ...
),
country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...
(
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
,
Daniel Amos Daniel Amos (aka D. A., Dä) is an American Christian rock band formed in 1974 by Terry Scott Taylor on guitars and vocals, Marty Dieckmeyer on bass guitar, Steve Baxter (musician), Steve Baxter on guitars and Jerry Chamberlain on lead guitars. ...
,
Gentle Faith Gentle Faith was a Christian country rock band in the 1970s, during the Jesus music era. An early version of the group released a song on ''The Everlastin' Living Jesus Music Concert'' in 1971 and one self-titled album in 1976 on the Maranatha! la ...
, The Talbot Brothers: John Michael and Terry Talbot, The Way), and
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
(Agape, All Saved Freak Band,
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
,
Resurrection Band Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for ...
,
Servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
). Initially, the music tended to be relatively simple, as it drew largely on guitar-based folk and folk-rock influences. The message also seemed to be relatively simple, as the songwriters attempted to present the value of a Christ-centered spiritual experience without evoking the vocabulary or other trappings of ecclesiastical religion. Rather than quoting religious cliches or King James Bible verses, they used storytelling, allegory, imagery, and complex metaphors, often with a colloquial language that flustered conservatives. In addition to the basic message of salvation, the lyrics often reflected the expectation of the imminent
Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
prominent in evangelical circles at the time, reflected and heightened by the publication of ''
The Late, Great Planet Earth ''The Late Great Planet Earth'' is a best-selling 1970 book by Hal Lindsey with Carole C. Carlson, and first published by Zondervan. ''The New York Times'' declared it to be the bestselling nonfiction book of the 1970s. The book was first feature ...
''. Larry Norman voiced this in his song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," singing "There's no time to change your mind/The Son has come and you've been left behind." Despite the message, the music was described by many as ''worldly'' at best or as "the Devil's music" in the worst case. This latter position was held by conservatives such as Bill Gothard as taught in his Basic Youth Conflicts Seminars. These were some of the main factors that caused many U.S. churches to largely reject the movement and these artists at the time. This suited many artists as they wanted to bring Jesus to non-Christians, not only to church youth. Larry Norman addressed this culture clash in his 1972 song, "Why Should The Devil Have All the Good Music?" On the West Coast of the United States, Jesus music festivals began to emerge in the summer months of the early 1970s, featuring many of the artists listed above. While the music was often loud and the venue similar to the
Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...
and
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
, the atmosphere was decidedly different and attracted large crowds of camping families as well as teenagers and young adults. By 1973, Jesus music was receiving enough attention inside the mainstream media that an industry began to emerge. By the mid-1970s, the phrase "
contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
" (CCM) had been coined by Ron Moore and the first edition of ''
CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...
'' was published in July 1977. CCM now was a combination of traditional
gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
,
Southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...
music, Jesus music artists, and in some cases a style of
big-band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
music with Christian lyrics. By 1976, it was apparent that a new generation of performers who had grown up in the church wanted to play non-secular pop and rock music for other Christians. By the end of the 1970s the term "Jesus music" fell out of use as ''the movement'' was replaced by ''the industry''.


Outside California

In the UK, Parchment, Roger and Jan, Judy McKenzie,
Malcolm and Alwyn Malcolm and Alwyn were a popular British gospel beat music group in the 1970s. They played rock music influenced by Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and The Beatles with lyrics reflecting their conversion to Christianity. The duo was composed of ...
, Garth Hewitt,
Graham Kendrick Graham Kendrick (born 2 August 1950) is an English Christian singer, songwriter and worship leader. He is the son of Baptist pastor M. D. Kendrick and grew up in Laindon, Essex, and Putney. He now lives in Tunbridge Wells and is a member of C ...
, Dave and Dana, Len Magee,
Adrian Snell Adrian Snell (born 1954) is an English pianist, keyboard player, singer and composer. Biography Classically trained at the Leeds College of Music and with a music diploma to his name (LGSM), Snell's musical career spans nearly four decades. Dur ...
, etc. were some of the most notable agents of the gospel beat.
Jesus People USA Jesus People USA (JPUSA) pronounced: ǰ-pu-sa is a Christian intentional community in Uptown, on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee during the Jesus movement, it is one of the largest cont ...
is an
intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...
and ministry, currently located on the North Side of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. Two of the first influences of JPUSA were Cornerstone magazine and
Resurrection Band Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for ...
.Liner notes to ''Music to Raise the Dead: 1972-1998'' by Resurrection Band. Jim Palosaari was one of Britain's influential Jesus people and one of the founders of the group that became JPUSA,
Servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
's Highway Ministries, and
Greenbelt festival Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown out of an evangelical Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young people into its current form, a more inclusive f ...
in England, the largest
Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...
festival in the world.


See also

*
Cultural depictions of Jesus The depiction of Jesus in pictorial form dates back to early Christian art and architecture, as aniconism in Christianity was rejected within the ante-Nicene period.Philip Schaff commenting on Irenaeus, wrote, 'This censure of images as a Gnos ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus Music 20th-century music genres Popular music Christian terminology Jesus movement